NUAPADA: Singjar, a small village in Nuapada district where sports is the way of life, may finally get a mini stadium. The longing for a dedicated playground for the sports crazy village has been quite long. The dream is set to become a reality soon - made possible not by the government, administration or any organisation but by an elder woman of the very village Sabitri Majhi.
The 95-year-old Sabitri Majhi decided to ensure that the sports legacy of her village continues for generations to come and quietly donated five acres of her ancestral land in the village for setting up of a mini stadium. Her beneficence came to the fore recently when Nuapada collector visited her house to express his gratitude for her gesture.
Singjhar has been hosting several sporting events for more than five decades. Located around 100 km away from the district headquarters, the village organises the popular inter-state Budharaja Cup cricket tournament every year, which witnesses participation of teams from Raipur, Bilaspur, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, and neighbouring Jharkhand. Besides, it hosts football and kabaddi tournaments too. However, there was no dedicated sports ground in the village till Sabitri decided to do the needful. Earlier, villagers used private or government land for the tournaments.
A villager Prem Chand Baitharu said the Budharaja Cup has been held in the village for more than seven years now and before every tournament, villagers would approach the district administration for a permanent piece of land. But to no avail.
Eventually, youths of the village met Sabitri with the proposal for a dedicated piece of land for sports. Sabitri along with her husband Nilambar Majhi had in the past donated some patches of their ancestral land for humanitarian causes. Sabitri heeded to their demand and donated five acres of land belonging to the Majhi family for setting up the mini stadium. She transferred the land as a gift deed exactly a year back.
Sabitri’s husband passed away a decade back. While he was alive, the couple had donated their land for construction of a school, a high school, and a temple in Singjhar. And, their selfless deeds have always been supported by their 10 children. Originally from Kalahandi district, Sabitri was married into the Gountia family of Singjhar, which had been known for its philanthropic spirit.
“Ever since I came to this village after my marriage, I have witnessed our villagers’ deep-rooted passion for sports. Over the years, it has become a generational tradition, giving Singjhar a unique identity. To promote this legacy, I decided to donate the land for developing sports infrastructure for the current and future generations,” she said.
Collector Madhusudan Das said the land donated by Majhi will be used to develop a mini stadium. He said the tehsildar has been instructed to identify an additional five acres of government land around the plot for the purpose. “If we find additional government land nearby, we will prepare a comprehensive proposal and send it to the government for further approval. Otherwise, we will proceed with the available land.
Officials from the sports department will also visit the site shortly,” he said.